That national median would be that point where 50% of the households earn less, and 50% earn more. There are many people in poverty and not the demographic buying scuba equipment and dive tourist trips.
The question is, what is the median income in the demographic you sell to, or wish to sell to? That may vary regionally. In southwestern KY, if I want to dive in the ocean, I need plane tickets, a hotel, likely a rental vehicle...but a young guy right out of high school in Fort Lauderdale, FL, or parts of coastal California, willing to shore dive wouldn't need any of that.
I get that the national median income is a useful metric for getting a rough sense of the buying power of the populace relative to different points over time. I'm just saying specific amounts from it probably aren't all that accurate.
Here's an idea for a poll that would be interesting. I'm not doing it. If someone does, I think it should be just a poll, strictly anonymous, because it's a touchy substance, and even then I don't know how off-putting it'd be to forum members. Imagine a Scuba Board poll asking people to rate their annual gross household income according to a list of ranges:
1.) < 50,000.
2.) 51-75,000.
3.) 76-100,000.
4.) 101-125,000.
5.) 126-175,000.
6.) 176-250,000.
7.) > 250,000.
I wonder where the %'s would fall? Even then, it'd vary by region. You can be an ocean diver cheaper in some coastal areas.
Richard.
Skin Diver magazine did several of these financial demographic polls on their reader service cards back in the day when you could circle numbers related to ads in their magazine and receive actual brochures and catalogs. I don't recall the numbers exactly, but the average diver in the 60's was a mid-20's blue collar worker and by the 80's became a middle-aged white collar worker.